It's hard to know where to begin this week's blog report, because so much has happened. Every day has been full.
On Monday Elder and Sister Hawley both arrived at the office ready to complete training. The word "complete" should be in italics, because it is still an ongoing project, and now the training comes both initiated by us and requested by the new office elders, because they are now beginning to get a real understanding of how much time and effort it really takes to get all the work in the office done, to do it well, and to do it on time!
This is a list of the items we have trained on:
This is a list of the items we have trained on:
The Mission Secretary is responsible for:
To assist the mission president in his duties and calling
The management of missionary arrivals and departures
All types of correspondence with missionaries, parents, other missions, MTCs
All referrals and the Referral Manager
Email, telephone requests, visa inquiries, incoming/outgoing post
Orientation of new missionaries
President‟s Board Cards; maintaining current missionary files
Mission annual history
Filing and record-keeping
Help with reimbursements, ordering of stationery, miscellaneous supplies
Preparation of training materials & binders for new missionaries, trainers,
district leaders and zone leaders
Mission calendar, building scheduling
Baptism recording in Convert Data Entry system
Travel with Global Visa Management
Monthly Mission President‟s Report
MOVES + Phone List + Organization Roster, Reports in iMOS
Quarterly Mission Newsletter, Truth Will Prevail
Mission Photography
The Finance Secretary is responsible for:
Payment of rents, utilities, supplies, costs of mission/missionaries
Make and maintain accounting entries + system of records for the ELM in iMOS
Bank deposits; receipts & financial record keeping
Set up & maintenance of relations & accounts with landlords, property managers,
taxing boroughs & councils, and utility companies
Negotiation of contracts and terms for tenancy agreements; arrangements in flats for
missionary occupancy
Maintenance of records for mobile phone placements, their use and maintenance,
Including number activation and phone inventory
Mission budget maintenance & reports
Represent the Mission; interact with Solihull on mission and financial matters
Obtain, distribute, fund and maintain JCM Cards
Following Church policies as outlined in the Mission Operating Handbook
Act as Flat Manager and Fleet Manager when they are unavailable
Maintain and operate the Petty Cash system for the mission office
Aid in supply ordering, distribution and maintaining the supply inventory
Perform all other duties as assigned by the mission president
We had an interview with President Patch, in which we were able to report to him what training items we had covered, and that we felt that the office elders were ready to "fly on their own." He seemed to agree. He "instructed" us to complete our remaining items of training and to use the next 3-4 weeks here -- our last -- to go and "play." [Weird! It's like having a series of P-Days! We'll have to go back into the office and help out, just so as we don't go into severe withdrawal! Of course we will bring treats for the elders and the APs!]
Sister Hawley spent a portion of the day printing out 130 or so copies of her last TRUTH WILL PREVAIL ELM newsletter. She has done six issues of the newsletter while we have served in London. The original version turned out to be 16 pages long, with this issue including 4 months worth of newly arrived missionaries, departed missionaries with printing of their departing words, and a section spotlighting the senior couples and what their "jobs" entail. With two of the couples leaving [Little's in October and Hawley's in December], their portions included their departing words as well. The president thought this newsletter, however well done, looked quite professional, but that it was too long, so Sister Hawley printed out the 16-page version only just for the couples and for the departed missionaries who want to read their "words" and see their pictures in print. Then the president gave 2 lines to each of the above missionaries, cut out a couple of pages, and trimmed it down to 8 [double-sided] pages, and Sister Hawley printed the largest batch of this size of newsletter, and then the APs passed out this copy at the end of each day of Zone Conference. It was very well received. E/S Hawley made PDF copies of all the newsletters Sister Hawley has done, and Sister Hawley has emailed some of the departed missionaries their own copies.
Tuesday was a full day, with it being the first of two Zone Conference days. The office elders attended on Tuesday, so we covered in the office for them, and Sister Hawley was able to gather more photos for the President's Picture Pages project -- he's asked Sister Hawley to collect photos of all missionaries who have or will depart from his first day until his last day: 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2012. He's also asked for copies of each of the six newsletters, and Sister Hawley will include a list that will correspond with the photographs. So far she has collected 203 photos, and she is just waiting for one last picture before putting all on a CD to give to President and Sister Patch.
New ELM Zone Leaders
On Wednesday it was our turn to attend Zone Conference. A wonderful, hardworking, and so-well organized woman from the Hyde Park Ward, Rachelle Ostler, prepared wonderful meals for both days' luncheons: Chicken Cordon Bleu, vegetables, rolls, scalloped potatoes, and brownie/ice cream or fruit crumble/ice cream for "pudding." [Pudding is the English generic title for most desserts.] The meetings were inspirational. Each day 4 of our 8 zones were in attendance in the Hyde Park Chapel. The morning session included testimony bearing by the new missionaries, and the afternoon session included testimonies by those departing in the next few weeks. This included us, and we were given the "honor" of being the first ones to speak! [Lucky us!] We approached the pulpit together holding hands, and I explained that we started our mission hand-in-hand, we walk the London streets hand-in-hand, we serve hand-in-hand, we pray hand-in-hand, we bear testimony hand-in-hand, and we will depart hand-in-hand as well. Actually, it was a sweet experience. We each bore testimonies that combined with the others', and we felt that in one respect this was our leave-taking, our unofficial release, sort of permission-given/thanks expressed for our service here in the England London Mission. It was a very uplifting day to hear all of these testimonies. These missionaries are young, but they are so very well prepared, so motivated, and have such strong testimonies of the gospel and the Savior. It is wonderful to hear them speak with such conviction and happiness. It is wonderful to see what missionary service does for their spiritual maturity and character.
Standing in front of the New York World's Fair [circa early 1960's] / Hyde Park Chapel Mural
Just a P.S.: At every zone conference luncheon, Sister Patch announces the birthdays for the month and gives everyone a Snickers candy bar. This month Sister Hawley has a birthday, and when she got up she received the loudest cheer from the whole group there in the cultural hall! She was so surprised, and really touched. There were so many missionaries who came up to Elder and/or Sister Hawley to say that we are going to be missed, that we have helped someone, or done such a good job. It was quite a special time for us.
Last week we enjoyed a relaxing dinner with new friends, Cookie and John Allred, who are members of the HP Ward, and who will be living here in London for four years while John works as an international banker. London is his "base of operations." He travels to eastern Europe and beyond. This week he is in Egypt and Cookie went with him. Their stake LDS assignment is to be hosts for the Church's 12-Step Addition Recovery Program, and we have helped to substitute for them when they have needed to go out of town. We enjoy our time with them. [See photo below.]
On Friday of this past week we were invited to a sloppy-joe missionary dinner by Gerry and Jim Price. They love to feed the missionaries, and they work in the Family History Centre and have "inherited" [size-wise] the "party flat" from the Inskeeps, who went home last November.
Again, it was a relaxing and fun evening that we enjoyed with Elders Potts, Tangilanu, Curgenven, and Sheppard; the Crandall's, the Harbrecht's, and the Campbell's.
The latest "party-flat" dinner group
[Sister Hawley has given her waffle maker to Sister Price, because she likes to feed the missionaries, too!]
Sister Hawley has made two shopping trips, one back to Portobello to help Sherrie Harbrecht find some sugar shakers, and then with Elder Hawley to Kensington High Street to buy another scarf or two, and to visit St. Mary Abbot's Church Kensington -- a small church set on a corner of Kensington High Street that we pass all the time and never go in to see what it's like. So on Saturday we went visiting. So many of the churches in England appear to have been crafted from the same architectural plans, and yet the wood-work and the gothic arches, the stained glass windows, even the pew benches, and especially the baptismal fonts with their decorative covers, seem interesting each time -- at least for Sister Hawley. And Elder Hawley is gracious and supportive enough to go along. Well done, U, Elder H!
Don at front entrance to St. Mary Abbots Church, Kensington High Street
Chapel, Stained Glass, Gothic-Style Arches
Baptismal Font and Cover
Here are some concluding photographs for this week's blog: [1] Our 18 October 2010 group of departing missionaries: Sisters Ostler, Browning, Elders Koppe and Obradovic; [2] Elder Sterri, an area 70 from Norway whom we enjoyed talking with--shown here with Elder Ambihipahan; [3] Elders Hales, Johnson, and Chrimes; [4] Sisters Anderson, Muller, and Larsson; [5] The English tea pot [we'll use it for hot chocolate] Sister Hawley found in Stratford-upon-Avon; [6] and a picture of us with area missionaries the Green's when we went with them to see "The Mousetrap," with them -- the longest running play ever [about 50 years]
taken from a story by Agatha Christie; [7-8] Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, who was a professor of math at Oxford's Christchurch College for many years and also, being quite shy, wrote the Alice in Wonderland stories based on his friendship with children of teachers there, in particular a daughter of the Dean of the College named Alice who requested that he publish the stories he told the children so well; [9] the London Eye; [10] View of London from the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral; [11] the "Mission" bag that has traveled everywhere with us and that has carried everything imaginable in it [wallet, phone, umbrella, keys, scarves, gloves, camera, et al] each time we go out; [12] the Tower of London Bridge at night.
And with this last night shot, we too shall say good night! After all, we have days-of-play ahead, and more stories and pictures to publish to share with you our last weeks in England.
May the Lord be with and bless you, and may you find the fun and playtime in your own surroundings. It is a beautiful world created for us to care for and enjoy. We love it and you.
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